Travis County Water Control and Improvement District 17’s board of directors unanimously approved a resolution opposing proposed water quality standards during its June 17 meeting.

The proposed standards would create new, more lenient categories in between existing levels. TCEQ is set for a vote on the proposed standards June 30.

“The directors recognize that the proposed 2010 water quality standards reflect excessivly high concentrations of contaminants not normally encountered in Lake Travis and would significantly increase the allowable levels of indicator bacteria in Lake Travis and therefore would offer little protection for the existing quality of water,” WCID 17 directors said in the resolution.
WCID 17 board president David Steed said the proposed rules were a cause for concern.
“We wanted to pass this in advance of the TCEQ hearing,” Steed said. “These [proposed standards] would be higher than what is acceptable.”
Supporters of the proposed changes believe the regulations, if enacted, will save money and is a practical strategy for monitoring the state’s lakes, rivers and streams.
WCID 17’s decision was in support of District 47 Rep. Valinda Bolton, D-Austin, who believes the new standards, if adopted, could pose a risk to Lake Travis, which is regarded to be some of the cleanest water in a reservoir in Texas.
“While the draft for new water quality standards takes an important first step by recognizing that nutrient levels affect the clarity and quality of water, they have stopped far short of protecting Lake Travis,” Bolton said. “Lake Travis is ranked as one of the clearest and cleanest lakes in Texas, but its’ unique hydrology makes it less able to tolerate any variance in nutrient levels. It wouldn’t take much to turn it into a soupy green mess.”
Opponents, which include the City of Austin, are concerned the TCEQ suggests redefining “contact recreation” into different categories of recreation and set weaker clean water standards for bacteria for each of the new categories.
The proposed standards would increase the levels of bacteria allowed in water bodies used for recreation, which opponents believe pose a greater risk of illness. It would also eliminate requirements for cleanup plans for more than 60 streams currently considered “impaired” [polluted], according to the Sierra Club.
If passed, the new rules would increase endocrine bacteria counts from 126 parts per 100 milliliters to 206. The presence and levels of bacteria in the water can pose risks to the health of people recreating in or on the water.
According to a risk assessment by the commission, for a water body with an E. coli level of 126, eight in 1,000 swimmers could become ill. If the E. coli level is 206, 10 in 1,000 swimmers could become ill. At 630 parts per 100 milliliters, 14 to 15 swimmers per 1,000 could become ill.
Surface water quality in Texas is governed both by Section 303 of the Federal Clean Water Act and Chapter 26, Subchapter D, of the Texas Water Code. Under these statutes, the TCEQ — sometimes under the direction of the EPA — creates rules and standards to monitor and protect surface water quality in Texas.
During the past two years, the TCEQ has held several public meetings regarding proposed changes to the surface water quality standards and accompanying implementation procedures in Texas.
TCEQ maintains the proposed regulations would mirror current EPA allowances. However, there has been an ongoing battle between TCEQ and the EPA over air quality regulations that has spilled into the public domain in recent weeks. The feud has attracted national attention and some predict a showdown is looming between the two agencies. The Obama administration named Al Armendariz as regional EPA administrator. Armendariz, a longtime critic of the TCEQ, has threatened to take over aspects of Texas air quality permitting at the end of this month. The TCEQ is also facing a sunset review by the Texas Legislature next year.
The proposed loosening its water quality standards has the Sierra Club concerned, which said some of the revisions — over 1,500 objections from the public — would weaken protections from bacteria pollution and undermine efforts to keep or make Texas water bodies clean enough for swimming, boating, wading, canoeing, kayaking, and other recreational activities.
“There is no compelling need to change the bacteria pollution standards at this time, especially since the EPA is currently working under a consent decree and settlement agreement in a federal lawsuit to conduct science and research in order to publish new or revised recreational water quality criteria by October 2012,” the Sierra Club said in a statement. “The time for TCEQ to consider any appropriate changes in its bacteria pollution standards is after that EPA process is complete, and new recreational water quality criteria have been adopted by the federal agency.”
E. coli numbers in Travis County area waterways are typically far lower than those proposed. Lady Bird Lake is consistently below 100 parts per 100 milliliters, and often as low as single digits. By the public boat ramp at Lake Austin at Loop 360 (Capital of Texas Highway), E. coli levels are typically in single digits, though measurements since 2005 are not available. Similarly low numbers are found in Lake Travis, according to the Lower Colorado River Authority, which opposes the proposed bacteria standards.
“Lake Travis serves several purposes — our family’s use it to swim and boat, local business owners depend on a clean lake for their livelihood, and it is also the drinking water source for over one million central Texans,” Bolton said. “Protecting the public’s health is the Commission’s most important responsibility and there is no acceptable reason for increasing the levels of fecal bacteria or nutrients in recreational waters where our families swim and boat — it just doesn’t make sense.”
But with the state strapped for cash, agencies like TCEQ are looking for inventive ways to save money. If approved, TCEQ believes it can save at least $1 million over three years, according to an agency estimate of the proposed revision.
And it isn’t just the government that is looking to save money.
“There are real costs associated with managing a farm to comply with the law,” John Cowan, executive director of the Texas Association of Dairymen, told the TCEQ.
Advocates for waste water concerns concur, saying streamlined regulations will save money that would be reflected in savings for its customers.
“The tighter the standard, the more technology you might have to employ to treat [sewage to meet] that standard,” costing wastewater companies and ratepayers, said Brad Castleberry, a lawyer who represents the Water Environment Association of Texas.
Whatever the savings, Bolton said the potential cost to Lake Travis is unacceptable.
“The commission estimates that the proposed changes would save the state approximately $1 million over a three-year period,” Bolton said. “I believe this proposed change is penny wise but pound foolish, costing our communities, businesses, and families more in the long run in lost tax revenue, lost business, and increased health care costs. It’s short-sighted to think that saving $1 million over three years warrants reducing the safety of our drinking and recreational water.”